RTOC D’espairsRay Interview: Long Beach

JRR: Thank you for doing this interview with Jrock Revolution. What do you miss eating the most while on tour here?

HIZUMI: Okonomiyaki.

KARYU: Takoyaki.

TSUKASA: Ramen.

ZERO: Me, too.

JRR: Now that you have toured all over America, what was the most memorable live for you and why?

HIZUMI: Probably the Las Vegas show. It’s quite recent. When we first stepped onto the stage, there was almost no reaction from the audience at all. I was getting worried. Then halfway through our performance, we started getting reaction and I thought “This is it!!” and was really excited (laughs). Most of the audience was ordinary people who did not seem like the rock music-listener type.

KARYU: Mine was Chicago; I feel that it was in Chicago where I started to capture how to interact with the audience.

TSUKASA: For me it was the show in Miami. When I play drums on stage, I make faces sometimes, like sticking my tongue out, for fun. At that show, a couple of people from the audience mimicked me.

(Group laughter)

KARYU: Are you sure they weren’t just making fun of you? (laughs)

TSUKASA: I call it “kao-gei” (facial expression talent/entertainment)

(Group laughter)

It’s my way of communicating and to stand out, so it was cool to have reactions from the crowd.

ZERO: Tonight’s show will be the best show. For every performance, I always think it would be the best show, and the next one would be an even better show. So, everyday is the best show.

JRR: Now that you have released your album MIRROR in the United States, have you noticed any change in the audience, such as more people singing along to your songs?

HIZUMI: There’s a few more people but not a whole lot; eventually I hope everyone will be able to sing along with our songs.

JRR: Right now there are volunteers around the country supporting the Jshock releases and promoting your CDs. What would you like say to those fans?

HIZUMI: At concerts, I think some of the first people who cheer for us are people working with Jrock Revolution [in promoting our releases], and they are definitely very important because they pump up the crowd for us, and also make us energetic to perform. We are really thankful for their help.

JRR: The DVD “SPIRAL STAIRCASE #15” is also on sale right now. Are there any particular parts of the concert recorded that you felt most memorable?

HIZUMI: During the last song KALEIDOSCOPE, there were kamifubuki (paper shavings intended to imitate falling snow) falling from the ceiling, and it was really beautiful and almost made me cry. Unfortunately only one piece got stuck in my hair (laughs).

KARYU: During the song DESSERT, there was so much dry ice smoke that I could not even see what was in front of me, and I was quite worried (laughs). You probably can’t even see me in parts of the song (laughs).

TSUKASA: During KALEIDOSCOPE, the lighting was supposed to change colors but it didn’t really change much.

ZERO: It is the most memorable to me that, just by seeing the audiences’ faces I was able to tell how much they enjoyed the show. It’s a great DVD.

JRR: During our last interview, we discussed how the Japanese audience is predominantly female. Here, however, there are a lot more male audiences. How do you feel about that?

HIZUMI: I am really happy that there are a lot of male fans.

KARYU: He’s gay.

(Group laughter)

JRR: Does it feel different to have mostly male audiences?

HIZUMI: The atmosphere is very different; it’s very exciting and fun. As D’espairsRay we want to become a band that is popular with guys.

JRR: What were some of the funniest things that happened on tour, that really made you laugh?

HIZUMI: There are but I don’t think we should tell those (laughs).

KARYU: Those were pretty bad (laughs). (Pointing to TSUKASA) He was drinking with the American bands and had a little too much, and got quite “uncomfortable” (laughs).

TSUKASA: They made me drink out of the beer bong. I succeeded three times, then I lost memory after that (laughs). According to them, after I finished the beers I just ran and did some “business.”

(Group laughter)

HIZUMI: When he came back to the bus, we asked him if he actually did drink all those beers and he said he didn’t! (laughs)

TSUKASA: I was so out of it [the next day] and totally thought I failed to do the binge drinking with the other bands, as I had promised them I would do it. I had no recollection that I did! So I went to apologize to them and they told me I did do it.

HEATHER: The beer bong thing started when we were just sitting in the bus and TSUKASA came and opened the door with a loud bang, and fell on his ass. He is the biggest party boy of them all.

(Group laughter)

JRR: Do you feel more reaction from the audience in places you’ve formerly performed at, such as A-kon?

HIZUMI: Definitely. The reaction is better from the places where we’ve performed before.